Educating the next generation of engineers and specifically machinists is paramount to the continued success of UK PLC. City of Wolverhampton College has made a major investment in a range of machinery, ensuring local businesses have access to a pool of young talent to help grow and develop engineering facilities in this industrial heartland of the UK.
Having first purchased machines from XYZ back in 2015, which were located in the original training workshop at the Paget Road Campus, the demand for educating students and apprentices has boomed and a new £8.1 million centre has been built at the college’s Wellington Road campus, in Bilston, as part of the City of Wolverhampton Council’s transformational City Learning Quarter masterplan.
The Advanced Technology and Automotive Centre- which opened in September 2024- houses the existing machines and another wave of major investment in manual mills, manual lathes, CNC bed mills fitted with ProtoTRAK RMX touchscreen controls, along with a vertical machining centre and CNC lathe fitted with Siemens Sinumerik CNC controllers.
Jim Wilkins, curriculum manager for engineering at the college, explains why there is such a diverse range of machines at the college. “We think that it is important that these young people, who range from Level 1 students and go right up to HND level, understand the basics of machining.
“This starts with being able to create and understand a drawing and then continues through to gaining knowledge in basic machining principles with the setting up of a machine and learning how to manufacture parts, which is why we have a number of manual machines.
“That said, to assist in their development and as the students continue their journey towards full time employment, they need to be exposed to CNC mills and lathes with the additional functions they have. This means they can learn about production engineering and the efficiency gains that come from using machines fitted with automatic tool changers and learn in a controlled environment the increase in performance that these types of machines have”.
The funding came from the local council and the West Midlands Combined Authority who had the vision to make this funding available due to Wolverhampton and the wider West Midlands area being industry led. Now this workshop is up and running, the college are engaging with local businesses to work together to provide young people with a future in engineering.
There are currently 140 students enrolled on engineering courses, as well as over 40 engineering apprentices from local and national companies training at the centre, gaining the skills and knowledge they need for their careers in the industry.
Jim continues “The purchase of the XYZ machines has proven over several years to be the right choice for the college.
“This is due to the industrial build quality of the machines along with the service and support we receive from XYZ. Also having a dedicated point of contact in John Aspinall, Educational Sales Manager, we get fantastic advice and support on our equipment and importantly, this helps the college to achieve its goals of preparing people for employment by equipping them with the skills needed by the sector and, ensuring local engineering companies are kept supplied with young talent that allows local businesses to stay productive and competitive
Contact:
Mr Martin Burton, Managing Director
e-mail: sales@xyzmachinetools.com
Website: www.xyzmachinetools.com
